the politics of migrant labour policymaking: the case of taiwan

Migrating out of Poverty International Conference

School of Oriental and African Studies

London, England

March 28-29, 2017

The Politics of Migrant LabourPolicymaking: The Case of Taiwan

Prof. DIOSDADO B. LOPEGA

Division of Political Science

Department of Social Sciences

College of Arts and Sciences

University of the Philippines Los Baños

College, Laguna

Politics

As used in this paper, politics refers to

power.

What is power?

As defined by Andrew Heywood,

power is the ability of A to get B do

something that B wouldn’t do (by

himself or herself alone).

What is policymaking?

It is the process of setting

and directing the course of

activity to be pursued by a

government, business, etc.

Politics of migrant labour

policymaking in TaiwanThis paper aims to give answer to the following

questions:

1.WHO has the power in making

migrant labour policies in Taiwan?

2.WHERE does power lie in

connection with migrant labour policymaking in Taiwan?

3.HOW is power distributed in

connection with migrant labour policymaking in Taiwan?

Theoretical Framework

In order to answer the three questions, I will use the theory of TRANSGOVERNMENTALISM

As explained by Political Scientist and legal expert Anne-Marie Slaughter (1997), TRANSGOVERNMENTALISM puts premium on non-state actors particularly NGOs as they complement the state in carrying out its policymaking function.

TRANSGOVERNMENTALIS

M

Keith Faulks (1999), a Political Sociologist reinforces Slaughter’s idea. He believes that states seek to share their power with other states and the institution of civil society in response to social changes.

1. INTRODUCTION

Taiwan

considered as one of the Asian Dragons together with Hong Kong, Singapore and South Korea because of its impressive economic performance.

economically, being an island nation like Singapore, it lacks natural resources. Frank Hsiao and Mei-chu Hsiao (2001) pointed out that Japan, China and Southeast Asia supplied the resource requirements of Taiwan in the past.

I. INTRODUCTION

state of events (economic and political

conditions) did not deter Taiwan and in

fact it became a country with one of

the best performing economies

Taiwan experienced rapid

industrialization that transformed the

country into the world’s no. 1 hi-tech

electronics and semiconductor

manufacturing hub

I. INTRODUCTION

In the 1980s Taiwan became an

economic power with a mature and

diversified economy, solid presence in

international markets and huge foreign

exchange reserves

In 2010, it replaced former colonial

master Japan as the world’s top

producer of semiconductor

I. INTRODUCTION

Taiwan’s economy is ranked 14th in the

world by the 2016 Global

Competitiveness Report (cross-

country benchmarking analysis of the

factors and institutions that determine

long term growth and prosperity) of

the World Economic Forum.

I. INTRODUCTION

Good and impressive

economic

performance

- resulted to

problems

II. The Taiwan Economic Miracle: Better to

be the Head of a Chicken than the Tail of

an Ox

- Contest for power between the

Nationalist forces (KMT) of Ching Kai-

shek and the communists led by

Mao Tze-dong

- the communists triumphed in mainland

China

- Chiang Kai-shek and his forces

escaped to Taiwan

II. The Taiwan Economic Miracle: Better to be

the

Head of a Chicken than the Tail of an Ox

- in1949 Taiwan was poor

- supported by the US

- supported by the international

community

- supported by the Philippines

- reforms were effectively undertaken by

the Koumintang government)


the


Government-driven and supervised reforms were successful (e.g. land reform)

1960 - birth of the small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) considered as the harbingers of the country’s economic miracle

SMEs were honed and supported by the government (e.g. Ministry of Economic Affairs or MOEA)


the

Head of a Chicken than the Tail of an OxSMEs were successful

- contributed much to the economic development of Taiwan.

- many just operate in homes and houses, staffed by family

members and relatives

- specialized in the manufacture of items that have no

competition in the international market, items like

specialized pins and medals, figurines, metal-based

decorative items, cigarette lighters, tennis rackets

and lately electronic and computer parts and

peripherals

II. The Taiwan Economic Miracle: Better to

be the Head of a Chicken than the Tail of

an Ox

- According to the White Paper on

SMEs in Taiwan there were 1,363,393

enterprises of this kind in 2013

- the same White Paper pointed out

that

these SMEs make up 98.5% of

Taiwan’s

companies


the


… SMEs

- 75-80% of all employment

- 47% of the total economy

- In 1998 The Economist magazine

called these SMEs as the “Army of

Ants”

- employers of migrant workers


the


SMEs were set up by “black hands”

bosses

* former employees in larger

establishments

* mostly non-college graduates,

they learn by doing


the


“black hands” bosses

- their philosophy is “better to be the head of a chicken than the tail of an ox” meaning, better to be the boss of a small company than be a mere

employee orsubordinate in a big company

- with the number of Taiwanese who established their own small businesses,SMEs mushroomed in the country

III. How the Labor Pie is

Divided and Who Gets What?

- The economic success of Taiwan is a

pull factor for migrant workers to go to

the island to work

- poverty and unemployment in the

sending countries or countries of

origin of the migrant workers are push

factors



In 1989 Taiwan approved the entry of foreign workers mainly in high-priority national construction projects (e.g. Taipei subway system). Employers and contractors requested for 65,000 but only 45,000 were permitted by the government

In 1991 an additional 15,000 foreign workers were allowed entry to Taiwan by the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA), now the Ministry of Labor (MOL)



In 1991 when the CLA approved the entry of 15,000 foreign workers, only 5 countries were allowed and selected to send foreign workers to Taiwan, these were:

- Indonesia

- Malaysia

- Philippines

- Thailand

- Vietnam



Noticeably all these 5 countries are members of the ASEAN, as this is part of the Go-South Policy of the Taiwan government

- strategy not to be too dependent on

China, and the Taiwan businessmen

and factory owners were encouraged to

branch out or relocate to Southeast

Asia



In 2004, the Taiwan government approved the entry of foreign workers from Mongolia.

At the end of 2016 there were a total of 624,768 foreign workers in Taiwan according to the data of the Ministry of Labor. Of the total 274,309 are male workers and 350,459 are female workers.


Divided and Who Gets What?Breakdown:

As to nationality and sex the number of foreign workers in Taiwan during the end of 2016 were:

Male Female Total

1. Indonesian 56,061 189,119 245,180

2. Filipinos 48,87686,921 135,797

3. Thais 48,903 9,966 58,869

4. Vietnamese 120,468 64,452 84,920

5. Others 1 1 2

TOTAL 274,309 350,459 624,768



This number of foreign workers at

624,768 is 2.66% if plotted against

the total native population of

Taiwan which is 23,404,440 based

on the data from the Ministry of the

Interior.

IV. THE HEAT IS ON: WHEN EVIDENCE IS

INVOKED FOR POLICY CHANGES

As there are more female workers than male workers in Taiwan at present, the feminization of foreign workers is evident.

Considering the composition of foreign workers in Taiwan as to place of origin and sex, there are indications that some of Taiwan’s foreign labor policies are skewed towards categories that are composed of large number of members.

IV. THE HEAT IS ON: WHEN EVIDENCE

IS INVOKED FOR POLICY CHANGES

The high number of foreign female workers, especially female Indonesian workers who are mostly employed as caretakers and house helpers, has been of course noticed by the Taiwan government.

As an apparent measure to help this category of workers, the Taiwan government initiated to pass a proposed law called the “Domestic Workers Protection Bill”.



Liu Chuan-ming, Director of the Council of Labor Affairs Department of Labor Standards, said that his Council drafted a Domestic Workers Protection Act and sent it to the Legislative Yuan for review in 2012.

On March 2, 2015, the Migrant Empowerment Network in Taiwan (MENT) initiated a petition demanding that the Legislative

Yuan already pass this draft bill into law.



In the petition MENT cited the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights as bases of their demand for the immediate passage of the draft “Domestic Workers Protection Act”.

To date there is no answer yet from the Taiwan government regarding this petition.



In 1989 when Taiwan decided to import foreign workers there was no policy in place to protect the rights of the blue-collar foreign workers.

It was only in 1992 when the Employment Service Act was passed, covering foreign workers.



The Employment Service Act, Paragraph 3, Article 48, Chapter 5, requires foreign workers to undergo medical examinations. Concerned government agencies, like the Council of Labor Affairs (CLA), now the Ministry of Labor (MOL) and the Center for Disease Control (CDC) of the Ministry of Health and Welfare (MHW) implemented this particular provision and required foreign workers to undergo bi-annual medical examinations, and for foreign female workers to undergo pregnancy test as part of the medical examination process.



Pregnancy Test as a contract extension and renewal requirement was a source of complaint among female foreign workers

- reasons for the complaint: * additional medical examination payment; * intrusion to privacy and* other personal matters

- Social Workers of the Migrant Workers Concern Desk (MWCD) received complaints from female foreign workers about this pregnancy test requirement.



Actions taken:

- Contact networks for support (Verite)

- Directly contact and tell the state actors concerned (CLA officials), explaining to them that the requirement of the government for female foreign worker to undergo pregnancy test as part of the medical examination process is a contravention to international treaties and instruments particularly Paragraph 1, Article 6 of the International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination Against Women.



It states and I quote,

“State Parties shall take all appropriate measures to eliminate discrimination against women in all matters relating to marriage and family relations and in particular shall ensure, on a basis of equality of men and women: (e) The same rights to decide freely and responsibly on the number and spacing of their children and to have access to the information, education and means to enable them to exercise these rights. (emphasis mine).



As a result, the pregnancy test requirement as part of the medical examination process was abolished on

November 9, 2002.

A look at the website of the Center for Disease Control reveals that there were still female foreign workers who underwent pregnancy test after 2003, the year following the abolition of such policy:

2003 – 40 cases 2006 – 60 cases

2004 – 55 cases 2007 – 37 cases

2005 – 58 cases 2008 up to present – no cases

anymore

V. CONCLUSION

The problem that results from the economic development of Taiwan is acute labor shortage. This problem has no ready answer in the domestic front because many Taiwanese of working age prefer to establish their own companies or businesses albeit small because they believe that “it is better to be the head of a chicken that be the tail of an ox”.

The problem of the lack of labour is exacerbated because many Taiwanese blue-collar workers are choosy in so far as job is concerned.

V. CONCLUSION

Many Taiwanese of working age consider the jobs in the manufacturing industries and factories as dirty, degrading and dangerous or the so-called 3-D jobs.

As the labour shortage has no answer in Taiwan, the government allows employers to import foreign workers.

The influx of workers to Taiwan which numbered at 624,768 at the end of 2016 resulted to yet other concerns like the way how to safeguard their rights as labourers.

V. CONCLUSION

Civil society groups and other NGOs like TIWA, MWCD, MENT and Verite, share power in so far as migrant labour policymaking is concerned.

This can be evidenced in the abolition of the pregnancy test as a requirement among female workers when renewing or extending their contracts. A policy change was effected as a result of the efforts of NGOs and other civil society groups.

V. CONCLUSION

Labour brokers and most employers are

not in accord with the idea of giving

more concessions to foreign workers

Labour brokers and employers believe

that submissive foreign workers will

make it easy for them to control hence

will not cause or give them any trouble

V. CONCLUSION

Labour brokers and employers try to convince the government and state actors that if foreign workers will be given more leeway, concessions and “freedom” they may “run away” or abscond their jobs, therefore the government has to control foreign workers by implementing strict laws

High rate of “run away” workers is a threat to society

V. CONCLUSION

In Taiwan, there are indications that the government or state actors, NGOs or civil society groups, employers and labourbrokers share power in the policymaking process concerning foreign labour.

The who, where and how in the

migrant labour policymaking of

Taiwan.

Government and State Actors

Labor Brokers and Employers

Non-government

Organizations (NGOs) and civil society

groups

V. CONCLUSION

WHO – the government, state actors, NGOs, civil

society groups, labour brokers and employers

posses the power or are all actively involved in the

migrant labour policymaking in Taiwan

WHERE – the power of migrant labour policymaking lie in

the different stakeholders (the government, state

actors, NGOs, civil society groups, labour

brokers and employers)

HOW – the power of migrant labour policymaking is

shared among the different stakeholders

V. CONCLUSION

The government and the state actors have the most power when it comes to migrant labourpolicymaking

NGOs or civil society groups and the labourbrokers and employers also wield power in migrant labour policymaking yet they channel this to the government for it to be realized.

NGOs and civil society groups and the labourbrokers and employers do not agree as to how foreign workers will be treated and helped

Thank you.

the politics of migrant labour policymaking: the case of taiwan

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